A winter trip
by effulgent24
Summary: Victoria and Lydia take a girls-trip to Positano. Pre-series.
1. The arrival

"Finally! I thought we would never get off the plane in this lifetime." said Lydia when they landed at Naples Airport on a chilly January evening.

"It's been almost a year since I last visited Europe, I'm not used to these 12 hours flights myself." sighed Victoria as she hooked her arm around hers.

"Did you see that woman's purse? I can spot a fake Gucci bag from a mile." laughed Lydia with a malicious spark in her eyes.

„Not everyone managed to profit from the recession as well as we did, darling."

„I thought we had left the economy talk back in Montauk. It's time for the fun part to begin." – Lydia said as she twisted a lock of Victoria's hair around her finger.

„You're right, sweetheart. We can start with emptying the minibar in our hotel room, for old times' sake."

„I'm game." – Lydia murmured.

Their cab arrived at the hotel in about 90 minutes. They gave the young, suntanned bellboy a generous tip after he finished bringing all 16 of their suitcases to their room.

„Did you see the way he checked you out?" laughed Lydia.

„I did. He must be about the same age as Daniel." Victoria said with a faraway look in her eyes – „I barely get to see him during the year. But he promised to come home for my next fundraising party."

„Talking about parties, we could pick the perfect gown tomorrow for your event in April."

„Always one step ahead of the she-wolves." – Victoria's face softened, gentle amusement in her voice - "I'll call Ashley first thing in the morning to send me a list of the best designer stores in the city."

„She's in a different time zone, that will definitely be a wake up call." – Lydia sighed as she threw herself on the bed.

Victoria opened the balcony door. The huge terrace was overlooking the sea.

„God, the city looks so beautiful at night. I wish the weather was a little warmer so we could take a walk outside right now."

„I know, we should return next summer. Until then, there are still plenty fun indoors activities I could think of. Would you help me get out of this dress?" Lydia said invitingly.

„With pleasure."


	2. Day 1

„Wake up, sleepyhead." said Victoria as she gently stroked Lydia's shoulder. „Breakfast smells delicious and Ashley just sent me a link to the website of this lovely boutique."

„Is it morning already? What time is it?" Lydia said, still half-asleep.

„8:30."

„Aren't vacations supposed to be the time when you get to sleep as long as you want to?" said Lydia as she buried her face in her cushion.

„We only have 4 days here. And 30 minutes left to eat our breakfast. Of course we could go to a restaurant, but I've heard wonderful things about this hotel's kitchen. And you didn't feel like wasting too much time on sleeping last night." Victoria sat down on the bed next to her, reached under the blanket and started caressing her leg this time.

„No. When I think about it, I'd rather have my breakfast in bed as well." giggled Lydia as she rolled to her side and pulled her fellow voyager closer.

"Bonjour!" Lydia said as they entered the store.

"That's in French, darling." said Victoria with gentle amusement in her voice and stroked Lydia's left arm. "Buon pomeriggio!" she said as she turned towards the clerk.

"I love these dresses! You're gonna have to host a lot more fundraising parties so I could show all of them off. What else are these events good for anyways? Besides laundering money for Conrad's clients."

"Making amends I guess, ridiculous as it sounds. Nothing's ever black and white, is it?"

"Certainly nothing in this spring collection. I'll be sure to make the most generous donation so you can invite me on the stand wearing this." Lydia said as she stepped outside the fitting room in a golden silk gown.

"That's definitely worth throwing a million dollar party for. Would you help me find something for Charlotte until I try this one on?"

"Of course. By the way, this one goes well with your coloring. Red always looked good on you."

"How do I look?" asked Victoria 10 minutes later as she finished dressing.

"Splendid!" Lydia grabbed her hand and made her spin around so she could check the gown from every possible angle. "I know how hard it is to find something that matches what's underneath."

Lydia tightened her grip on her hand, pulled her close and gave her a kiss. Then she turned to the purple dress she put down on the chair a few minutes ago.

"By the way, this would look good on Charlotte. She has her mommy's bone structure."

"I agree. I knew I could count on you. We should go pay for these. Michael and Conrad will know our holiday is going well when they check their credit card accounts."

Their driver was not in the car when they left the store.

"I think he went to grab a coffee." said Victoria.

"Probably." Lydia took a box of cigarette out of her mink's pocket. "I keep these for special occasions."

"Wow, Chesterfield? Conrad brought home a few packs from his business trip to Virginia." said Victoria. Suddenly there was a confused, uncomfortable look on Lydia's face. "Sweetheart, are you all right?"

"Of course. It's just the cold."

"I've been opposed to smoking for the past 20 years, but this brand is a historical treasure." She took one out of the box and let Lydia light it for her. "Thank you, darling."

She inhaled and enjoyed the old, familiar feeling of the smoke flowing into her lungs.

"Lauren Bacall used to advertise this cigarette back in the forties. You kinda remind me of her now."

"I don't know who Lauren Bacall is, but you ladies look amazing." said one of the two thirty-something men who just came out of the restaurant next to the boutique.

"How nice of you to say so." replied Victoria shortly, then turned away and continued talking to Lydia. "We should see…"

"If you're thinking about returning this summer, the four of us could book a boat trip. I would pay."

Victoria looked irritated. "As you may or may not have noticed, I was talking to my friend." then she put on a smile and continued in a more pleasant tone. " And generous as your offer is, we have our own yacht."

The man looked shocked, then walked away with his friend without saying a word.


End file.
